No. 5.
Mr. Blount to Mr. Gresham.
No. 2.]
Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands, April 8, 1893.
Sir: I send you by the steamship China the following documents:
Report of the president of the Bureau of Immigration to the
Legislature of 1892;
Constitution of the Hawaiian Islands for 1887;
The Honolulu Almanac and Directory for 1886, containing the
Constitution of 1884, and
The Hawaiian Annual for 1892.*
These contain much valuable information, which may be useful in
properly understanding the political movements and the
disposition of different classes of persons in these islands. I
forbear any comment now. It seems to me important to gather all
the information I can, in every direction, before permitting
myself to reach conclusions or indulge in comments. I am
conversing with many persons of all shades of political opinion.
Some of these conversations I have in writing. They will cover
much space, and, unless especially desired by you, I will not,
as a rule, forward them by mail.
I send a conversation between Admiral Skerrett and myself, taken
down by my stenographer and approved as correct by Admiral
Skerrett. (Inclosure No. 1.)
I inclose a copy of a letter from Mr. Thurston to Mr. Antone
Rosa, the original of which I have seen. Also an explanation of
Hawaiian words used in Mr. Thurston’s letter. (Inclosure No.
2.)
I inclose also a copy of a letter written by Mr. Thurston to Mr.
J. T. Colburn, who was in the last ministry of the Queen.
(Inclosure No. 3.)
I think the annexation party is endeavoring to impress the
Royalists with the belief that, although the American ensign has
been hauled down and the American troops ordered to their
vessels, under color of protecting the persons and property of
American citizens the troop
[Page 476]
will be returned, if need be, to suppress
an outbreak against the existing Government.
As a class, American citizens here have been the most active in
dethroning the Queen, and are active in maintaining the existing
Government. If they are thus to participate in the affairs of
these islands, and when force is used to suppress such movements
on their part the forces of the United States are to be called
in to protect their persons and property, it does seem that our
Government encourages them to lawlessness, and its good faith is
impugned.
My present impression is that the existing Government owes its
being and its maintenance to this perverted influence. Of
course, time and further inquiry may furnish a different and
better opinion.
It is not easy for me to impress persons here with the complete
idea of our noninterference policy, coupled with exceptions. The
protection of the persons and property of American citizens here
has come to mean aid to or enforcement of the laws whenever
force is used against existing authority. This may be used to
create a new Government and maintain
it.
To meet the situation here may require a clear, defined, and
thoroughly advertised announcement of when and how our troops
are to be used. I know much must always be left to the sound
direction of the representative of the United States here. Any
suggestion or instruction to me, additional to what has been
already given, would be very helpful.
I am, etc.,
James H. Blount,
United States
Commissioner.
[Inclosure 1 in No.
2.]
Interview between Admiral Skerrett and
Mr. Blount.
Col. Blount. When did you come to
the islands?
Admiral Skerrett. February the 10th
of the present year.
Col. Blount. Were you in Washington
prior to that?
Admiral Skerrett. Yes; I was in
Washington on the 31st day of December, or the 30th day of
December.
Col. Blount. Did you have any
conversation with the Secretary of the Navy about coming
down here?
Admiral Skerrett. Yes.
Col. Blount. Please be kind enough
to state it.
Admiral Skerrett. I called at the
Navy Department on the 30th of December to see Mr. Tracy,
the Secretary of the Navy, to ask him if he had any final
instructions for me, as I was going to leave the next day
for San Francisco to assume command of the Pacific squadron.
He replied: “Commodore, I have no instructions to give you.
You will go there and perform your duty, as I know you will,
and everything will be satisfactory.” I remarked: “Mr.
Tracy, I want to ask you about these Hawaiian affairs. When
I was out there twenty years ago I had frequent
conversations with the then United States minister, Mr.
Pierce, on the subject of the islands. I was told then that
the United States Government did not wish to annex the
islands of Hawaii.”
He replied: “Commodore, the wishes of the Government have
changed. They will be very glad to annex Hawaii.” He said as
a matter of course none but the ordinary legal means can be
used to persuade these people to come into the United
States.
I said: “All right, sir. I only wanted to know how things
were going on as a cue to my action,” and I bade him
good-bye.
Col. Blount. Admiral, please give
me your opinion as to the disposition amongst the opponents
of the existing Government to resort to force.
[Page 477]
Admiral Skerrett. The only means I
have of knowledge is what I glean from newspapers. I am
never in conversation with any of the party; never been
brought in contact with them or anybody I knew to be opposed
to the annexation movement.
Col. Blount. Do you see any
symptoms of any disposition to resort to force of any
kind?
Admiral Skerrett. I have never
since my arrival—and I have been on shore many times—seen
any indications of such a disposition.
Col. Blount. Up to this time?
Admiral Skerrett. Up to this
time.
[Inclosure 2 in No.
2.]
Mr. Thurston to Mr. Rosa.
Washington, D.
C., March 16,
1893.
Friend Rosa: Yours of March 1st is
duly at hand. I am very sorry that the band boys have taken
the course which they have. It is certain that they can not
get work enough in Honolulu to support themselves from the
receipts of an independent band as there are not people
enough there who could afford to pay for a band of that size
to give the boys a living.
With regard to my taking charge of them in Chicago, I thank
you for the interest you have taken in the matter, and their
confidence in me; but for several reasons I would be unable
to do it. In the first place, the expenses of so large a
number of men are very heavy, and it is only by a systematic
arrangement that the business part of the trip could be made
a success. This would require the laying out of a regular
series of entertainments, with detail arrangements with
theaters, fairs, etc. This time I can not possibly give to
them, as my own business at Chicago will necessarily take a
great deal of time. In the second place, I should not think
of such a thing as undertaking to engineer such a
combination as the Hawaiian band without a thoroughly
competent musical leader such as Berger. I think they will
make a great mistake if they go on there under the
leadership of the Manila man that you speak of, or any of
their own members. It requires something besides the ability
to blow in the end of a trumpet to conduct a band. Yon
yourself know how rapidly the band has always deteriorated
when Berger has been away. Of course there are other men in
the world just as good as Berger, but the boys are a
peculiar lot, and I know of no one who has been able to
handle them or get music out of them as he has. I should,
therefore, very seriously doubt the advisability of their
going at all unless they can get him as a leader.
I hope that something can be done by which their differences
with Berger and the Government can be fixed up so that they
can go to Chicago, as I think their presence there would be
of great benefit to Hawaii. You can tell any of those
gentlemen in Honolulu, who you say are interesting
themselves to keep the band out of my control, that they
need not worry themselves any longer about it. If the band
comes to Chicago I will do everything in my power to assist
them and forward their interests, and shall be glad to
employ them during part of the time to play at the Volcano
building. Further than this I have no desire nor intention
to have anything to do with, or any control over them,
although I presume this will be difficult for some of our
peanut-souled friends, who can not imagine anyone doing
anything except for private gain, to understand.
I am glad you have succeeded in settling up the Aylett suit
with the Bishop estate. I will write to W. O. Smith to
represent me in the matter, as the probability is that I
will be unable to come back until after the opening of the
fair, and after that my movements are uncertain.
You say that you hope that we will do what is fair for all of
you here. You ought to know by this time that we desire
nothing else. I think, Rosa, that you have got an
opportunity now to take a stand that will not only will be
beneficial to yourself, but in the highest degree beneficial
to your people. I desire to say a few words to you on the
subject, knowing that from your superior education and
associations you can appreciate the logic of events and what
the future is likely to bring forth, as very few of those
who look to you for guidance and as a leader can. What is
done within the next month or two is going to affect the
future of Hawaii for a great many years. A vast number of
natives will look to you and Colburn and a few others for
their opinions and information, and whether you take a
narrow view of matters or a broad one is going to be a
radical factor in the settlement of the question at issue.
There are several things which are settled and determined,
and if we all recognize them and, act upon that basis the
results will necessarily be very different from what they
otherwise will be. One of these certainties is that the
monarchy is pau. The Queen
[Page 478]
and her immediate
partisans may not appreciate this, and will probably
continue all labor under the delusion that there is a
possibility of her restoration. T. H. Davies is over here
now maundering about the restoration of Kaiulani, but there
is no more possibility of it than there is of the
restoration of Dom Pedro to Brazil.
It is a simple waste of energy on the part of anybody to
spend their time in attempting to restore what has fallen
through its own weakness. Neumann recognizes this condition
fully here, and is now confining his fight to get as much
money as he can out of it for the Queen. The question for
you and me and the others of us who expect to continue to
live in Hawaii to consider is, what is coming next? If the
native leaders hang back in a sullen way and oppose
annexation tooth and toe nail, it may very likely have some
influence upon the immediate adoption of an annexation
treaty. It will only cause delay, however, but can not
interfere with ultimate annexation. It will also generate
much ill-feeling and perpetuate differences of opinion on
race lines, which of all things is the one which we ought to
do the most to discourage. As I said, the most that
opposition to annexation will succeed in affecting is delay.
That is to say, the Provisional Government will remain in
power. The United States recognizes it as the Government and
will continue to do so until some other understanding is
arrived at by mutual agreement.
If through native opposition, annexation does not take place,
a protectorate will be the result; as I said before, this
will not be a protectorate of the Hawaiian Government under
the monarchy, but will be a continuation of the present
Government under the protection of the United States. In
either case, that of simple delay or of the protectorate, a
continuation of the present autocratic system of Government
will result, which is a thing which neither you nor those
you represent, nor the Provisional Government desire. It
means a government of force with the attendant probable
conspiracies against it, and general unsettlement of
business and degeneration of values which will prevent
business enterprise from development and be injurious to us
all, while no end of personal and party differences and hard
feeling will be generated. If the Provisional Government and
its leaders were bent on the rule or ruin policy, with no
other object in view but to secure control of the
Government, which Peterson and his boodle friends are always
harping upon, we would want nothing better than the
protectorate proposition which would leave us in control of
the Government with Uncle Sam’s troops to keep order. We
want nothing of the kind/however, and have resisted all
propositions from the Government here looking to a
government on that basis, although we could secure a treaty
of that description without difficulty, as the entire
opposition in the United States to annexation advocates
freely the execution of a treaty on the line above
indicated.
As I have stated above, however, we have no desire to
perpetuate any government of this description, nor to secure
any laws, terms, or conditions which would operate to
establish any differences between the citizens of Hawaii on
a color or race line. We do not propose to ask for nor
accept any legislation which shall apply to either natives
or white men that does not apply equally to the other. If,
instead of a protectorate, with its attendant evils, we
secure absolute annexation, one thing is certain, the
natives and white men equally will have no less liberties as
American citizens than they did as Hawaiians; while, as far
as their financial condition is concerned, there is no
comparison of the two situations. With annexation Hawaii
will inaugurate such a condition of commercial development
as will put the development of 1876 and succeeding years
entirely in the shade; no one class in the community will
reap the benefit of it.
It may be said that the treaty which we have proposed does
not cover a number of points which ought to be covered, to
wit, a removal of duties, prohibition of carpet-baggers,
securing American citizenship to Hawaiian citizens, and
similar points. In reply, I would say that once we become
American territory, there is not the slightest reason to
believe that we will be treated in any manner differently
from other portions of the United States. All the subjects
spoken of are matters of detail legislation, which have to
be covered by legislation passing both houses of Congress,
and are not covered by the treaty for that reason, as that
would have caused delay which we are seeking to avoid. As to
the offices being given to Malihinis there is no reason to
believe that there would be such difficulty, as it has
become an unwritten law in connection with the territories
that the offices shall be filled from local residents, and
with very few exceptions that rule is now and has been for a
number of years carried out. If you and others will take
hold and frankly work with us, explaining to the natives the
situation, and doing what you can to correct the impressions
being given out by the demagogues, I believe that within a
year from now we will have a prosperous, contented
community, with no more thought of revolution or conspiracy
than there is in Washington; but that if the agitation
against annexation and the accompanying stirring up of the
Kanakas against the Haoles goes on, it will result in a
situation disastrous to business interests, if not dangerous
to the peace.
I hope you will show this to Colburn, Bob Wilcox, and any
others whom you may choose, and that you will take it in the
spirit in which it is intended, that is, the
[Page 479]
forwarding of the common
interests of our country and people. I have got no as to
grind, do not want and will not accept any office, and am
actuated by no impulse but to secure the advancement of
Hawaii and her people to a freer political and mere
prosperous commercial condition than she has ever occupied
before. I write to you because, although we have been of
opposite political parties, I believe you can see through a
grindstone when there is a hole in it, and that if you
believe that the best interests of the natives lie in the
direction of annexation, you will use your influence in that
direction, even though it may not be the popular side among
them to begin with.
Me ke aloha nui ia oo a me ke one hanau o kaua, Owau no,
Definition of Hawaiian words used in Hon. L. A.
Thurston’s letter to A. Rosa, of March 16, 1893:
“Pan” means “finished,” or “over with.”
“Malihinis” means strangers.
“Kanakas” means “men,” but generally applied to native
Hawaiians.
“Haoles” means “white foreigners.”
“Me ke aloha nui ia oe a me ke one hanau o kaua, Owau
no.”
“With much love to you and the land of our (two) birth, I
am,”
[Inclosure 3 in No.
2.]
Mr. Thurston to Mr. Colburn.
Washington, D.
C., March 16,
1893.
Friend Colburn: I have just written
to Antone Rosa on the subject of annexation, and asked him
to show you the letter. Please consider that portion of the
letter written as much to you as it is to him.
Whatever our political differences may have been in the past,
I give you credit, as I believe you do me, for acting as you
thought best in the interest of Hawaii and the Hawaiians. I
see by the papers that your name is more or less connected
with that of Ashford, Peterson, and other political
agitators of that stripe. Without any personal animosity
against either of those gentlemen, I do feel that their past
history, which is known to you as well as it is to me, is
indicative of their disinterestedness in the advice which
they now give and action which they now take. A tremendous
responsibility rests upon you and others who have been
identified with the opposition in the recent movement, but
who, from their knowledge of the situation, must know the
ultimate advantages of annexation to the United States. Your
influence thrown against it will, of course, tend to
perpetuate the race feeling now existing; if thrown in favor
of it, while it may not be immediately popular, will, under
the circumstances, have a very strong effect. With
annexation there will, of course, come a temporary
reconstruction period, during which the necessary
legislation is being formulated for the reconstruction of
the government, and when the government will not be carried
on under representative lines; but, if we are within the
United States system, this can be but temporary. In the long
run we will receive all the benefits and privileges of
American citizens, and it behooves us to look to the future,
and not be governed entirely by the immediate present.
With aloha nui, I remain, etc.,
This is a correct copy of the letter written to me by L.
A. Thurston, and received by me Thursday, April 7,
1893.
